* * * E V A N * N O A H * S H A U N * * *: December 2009

Evan's 2nd Annual Artshow

I had to move this up because now we have video of the artshow...

Yes! Finally, a new blog entry. We've gotten several complaints on the lack of new stuff. This entry goes back to a few days after Christmas. Sandocia has really slowed me down. Big Momma doesn't move as fast as she used to.

Mike took his lunch break at work and met Evan and I at the building he used to work at for the 2nd artshow Evan has ever entered. Evan was the only entry at Mike's building if you remember our previous post. Thankfully the other two buildings picked up the slack.

Here's Evan with his major award. His face is covered in pizza, cookies and juice (provided free!) Plus he got that cute picture frame he's looking through and they put his picture in it from in front of the Christmas tree. So cute. There was a kids entertainer too that Evan loved. Someday I will post video of Evan dancing to the music!

Christmas Pagent Video

We finally got some video up - yay! Notice Evan front and center, literally one of the only kids singing and going through the motions. I'm not just saying this because I'm his Mommy - HE'S SO CUTE!!

Evan's 1st Christmas Concert

Brittany and Sarah came the night before and spent the night here in ol' Roxborough so they wouldn't miss the event. Brittany came directly from NY on a lovely Greyhound bus to the bus station downtown where I picked her up. Sarah actually was brave enough to merge into traffic. Now that's love!

A package from Paul and Susan arrived that night that just so happened to have this awesome shark boat with shark and "monster trucks" that ride on water so he immediately started pleading to take a bath. Which he did. Sarah had also brought him roll-on soaps that he rolled all over his body before hitting the water. She also brought him light-up cowboy boots with Buzz Lightyear on them. He hasn't wanted to take them off since and makes us turn off the lights so he can stomp around in them.

Evan was the ONLY one in the toddler group who actually sang and did all the theatrics. I'm going to post the video once I find that snarky USB cable to the video camera.

Walking in so cute-like.

Evan was seated directly in the middle.

This is after the performance. I don't know what's going on here.

Grandmom & Pop's Tree

While Mike was at the Army Navy game with Evan's Godfather, Brit, Evan and came to NJ to help Grandmom and Pop. This is the same lot we've been going to for 31 years now (my first Christmas was spent in O.C.). They cut the tree down for us and there's homemade honey there too. Mr. Eisle is also a beekeeper! Evan is sporting his legwarmers.

Here I am with Dad.

This year, Evan picked out the tree. Not this one. He called this "the baby tree".

Storybook Land

Our second annual trip with Evan, Jessica, Olivia, Brittany and Grandmom.

This time Brittany's friend Tricia joined us too. And there was no puke! I had a bib on Evan just in case he got carsick and Brittany fed him a tuna fish sandwich in the car since it was dinnertime. For those of you not familiar with Storybook Land, the whole place is COVERED with lights at Christmas. It's all outdoors and it's always frigidly cold everytime we go. Plus there's lots of creepy fairytale stuff with paper mache figures mixed with old robotic dolls that have been there since my mom was a kid. Evan woke up in the middle of the night with a nightmare and I couldn't help but think that one of those things had something to do with it. Despite all that, Evan had a blast looking at the stuff, running through the lights, going on the rides and hanging out with the girls. Tricia had even brought him a couple of presents or "bribes" as she calls them.

This is us in line to see Santa.

Mrs. Claus was the sweetest thing ever.

She even tried to fix Evan's hat hair! Little does she know his hair always looks like this.

We have no photos of Santa, but video was taken. He was the real deal with a real beard. Unlike his helper who was at Evan's school for the chaotic "Santa's Secret Workshop". The guy's beard was falling off and he had thick, black eyebrows! Evan was not fooled by that guy. I had volunteered to help at his school that day and that's a post in itself.

Evan flirts with Tricia during a hot chocolate break. Again it was BITTER COLD outside.

And we hit a bunch of rides. Our favorite is always the Alice in Wonderland cave that's blacklit and empties out into big playing card maze (not pictured),

MORE CHRISTMAS

Are you sick of Christmas cheer yet? Well, we're not! Here's Breakfast with Santa where at Dino's Diner where Sarah and Brittany used to work. I don't know what's up with that white stuff all over Santa's face, but Evan kept staring at it.

This shot is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.

And here's the second cutest thing ever. I think the aunties pushed all the waiting kids out of the way for this shot. Aunt Donna is resting her hand on Santa's leg. Woohoo! Poor Aunt Ella was working.

And the cousins with one of Olivia's friends on the far right.

More Christmas... and Thomas the Tank Engine

Last Friday Evan and I took the 9 bus downtown to see the tree at City Hall as shop at the Christmas Village there. Then we had lunch and took hung out at Rittenhouse Square. It was Evan's first Septa ride and he was so excited to be on the bus. Until a crazy guy got on and sat next to us. His breath stunk like beer and he kept trying to chat it up with Evan. Then he started singing some bluesy songs at the top of his lungs to the poor kid "One day yer going to wish ya listened to what I hafta say!!!" It was priceless to watch a 2 year old completely avoid eye contact with someone. I was starting to get really pissed and the two of us so relieved when the guy got off the bus. We waited about a half hour for a bus when we were ready to go home. Damn Septa.

Saturday I cleaned the house and decorated for Christmas while Evan and Mike met Dan, Elizabeth and some of Dan's nieces and nephews to see the Phanataclaus and Swoop then go to Chicky & Pete's for lunch (see previous post). It started snowing in the afternoon and my crazy, hormonal, pregnant mind kept freaking out over the snow, imagining them not coming home. I was so freaked out, I kept furiously cleaning until they arrived. Evan was asleep with candy cane all over his mouth. I was so relieved! I've been such a nut lately.

We let Evan sleep for a couple of hours then woke him up so that we could search for a Christmas tree! By now we had a few inches of snow and it was still coming down. We went down to Henry Ave. and let Evan pick out the tree. He kept yelling "It's snowing - yayyyyy!". It was pretty magical and Christmassy. We then returned home to decorate it and bake cookies. Our exhausted baby went to bed at 9:30, only to rise bright and early the next morning when my parents came and picked us up to go to Strasburg RR to ride Thomas the Tank Engine.

It was a long drive and we spent all day there in the frigid cold and rode about a hundred different trains, but Evan absolutely loved it. We even ran into one of his playdate friends there. We returned and were beyond tired, but decided to go out to dinner with my parents at the local bar down the street. That night the 4 of us (including Sandocia) fell sound asleep immediately.

This is the morning of Thomas while Mike was in Dunkin Donuts. Evan made Pop read him a Christmas book Danielle, Mark, Colin and Avery got him last year. It has this cool wheel thing on each page that changes the pictures and he loves it.

Christmas is coming

Evan with Santa in a lifeguard boat on the boardwalk.

It has been awhile since I've posted anything. Plus once again our camera is broken. Our family is obviously cursed when it comes to picture taking. It's probably a blessing to Evan since his dad is always chasing him around with it, or posing him in front of something. So, I've posted photos from my parents' camera and I'll give you some Evan/Sandocia updates. So, he's made up a bunch of names for the baby. Mody (a made-up friend from school), Stinky (because they baby is going to poop and pee in his pants), Daddy, Mommy and Sandocia are his picks as baby names. Evan made up Sandocia from Rachel Ray's picture. He was on the potty one day, saw the RR magazine and asked "Is that Sandocia, Mommy?" I said no it was Rachel Ray. "You sure she not Sandocia?" Who?? At this point we didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl, so hence the name Sandocia has stuck. We have 2 Christmas trees. Evan named our real tree "the big brother tree" and a little fake one "Sandocia's tree". Speaking of Christmas, this is the first one where he has really been super, super excited. He actually helped us decorate the tree - and I broke an ornament, not him! He knows what's going on now. The only gift he's asking for at this point is a Kindle. He asked Santa for it on the boardwalk when he was with my mom and sister. My mom was like "What?! A candle?" Evan's like "NO! A KINDLE!" Good luck with that, stinker.

At the playground with Aunt Brittany, Uncle Josh & Grandmom. Mike and I were out with Danielle, Mark and Uncle Bill the night before so we just slept in Philly while the babysitters watched Evan. He didn't even know we were gone, as you can see.

PHANTA-CLAUS

Saturday morning, we took our annual trip to Citizen's Bank Park to have our picture with Phanta-Claus. This is Evan's third picture with the Phat green man!

The Eagles, who are located across the street, also host their holiday celebration on the same day. Here is Evan with the Eagle's mascot, Swoop! He has a candy cane in his hand that the Phillies ballgirls gave him.